German Leopard 2 Tank – West Germany and NATO could not match their opponents tank for tank, but they could build better tanks. The Leopard 2 entered service in 1979, and it was a better tank than anything fielded in the Warsaw Pact.
The Leopard 2 is a German-manufactured main battle tank with a range of about 500km (311 miles). It first came into service in 1979 and has a top speed of 68km/h (42mph). Equipped with a 120mm smooth bore gun as its main armament, it is also armed with two coaxial light machine guns.
German Leopard 2 Tank
“They have us over a barrel,” a senior Biden administration official told CNN Thursday, adding that the Germans are demanding tanks for tanks, and not budging on considering any other offers the US has made to spur Berlin to send the Leopards.
Leopards To Ukraine
Leopard 2 is equipped with a land navigation system from the company LITEF of Bonn, Germany, which is a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman (formerly Litton) of the USA. The hybrid navigation system consists of a global positioning system (GPS) and an inertial navigation system.
Berlin also said it wouldn’t stand in the way of Poland sending some of its own Leopards to Ukraine. The Leopard was developed in Germany, and as a rule the transfer of German-made armaments to third parties must be approved by Berlin.
In June 2010, KMW unveiled its next-generation main battle tank, Leopard 2 A7+. The tank was successfully tested and qualified by the German Army. Its main features include a modular protection kit, improved sustainability and increased mobility.
In December 2006, it was announced that Singapore would buy 66 refurbished Leopard 2A4 tanks from the German Army, plus 30 additional tanks for spares. The tanks entered service with the Singapore Army in September 2008.
Mine Protection System For Improved Crew Safety
Morawiecki has said that Poland would send some of its own Leopards across the border to Ukraine if it can find a “small coalition” of countries to do the same – regardless of whether Germany is part of that bloc.
In late 2016, Turkey deployed its 2nd Armored Brigade to its border with Syria. The brigade, armed with Leopard 2 A4 tanks, was engaged by Islamic State forces and lost ten Leopard 2s. According to The National Interest, Turkey lost “five reportedly by antitank missiles, two by mines or improvised explosive devices (IEDs), one to rocket or mortar fire, and the others to more ambiguous causes.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 immediately prompted a call for NATO arms. Although NATO member states have donated hundreds of older, obsolete, Soviet-era tanks to the cause, the alliance has so far resisted calls to send Western-style tanks, with their improved armament, armor, communications, crew comfort, and other advantages,
to defend Ukraine. Germany in particular viewed the deployment of such tanks as a dangerous escalation against a nuclear-armed Russia, and even blocked the legal transfer of Leopard 2s to Ukraine from third-party countries. The driver’s compartment is equipped with three observation periscopes.
The Leopard Diaspora
Space to the left of the driver is provided for ammunition stowage. A camera with a 65° horizontal and vertical field of view positioned at the rear of the vehicle and a television monitor provides a reversing aid for the driver.
The Rh-120 is highly accurate while shooting on the move due to a two-axis stabilization system that counteracts the tank’s movement against the position of the Rh-120 gun barrel. Older tanks need to come to a halt to fire accurately at enemy targets, an action that collectively slows an attacking force’s momentum.
The Leopard 2’s stabilization system allows the main gun to remain oriented against a target even while the tank is maneuvering over rough terrain. This gives the Leopard 2 a high level of accuracy while shooting on the move, or a spill-free delivery of a stein filled with beer.
CNN reported Friday that German officials indicated they wouldn’t send their Leopard tanks to Ukraine or allow any other country with German-made tanks in their inventory to do so, unless the US also agreed to send its M1 Abrams tanks to Kyiv.
Cold War Origins
Many of them have agreed to re-export some tanks to Kyiv, but require Germany’s permission. Representatives for those countries that own Leopard tanks met on the sidelines of the Ramstein meeting, according to the Portuguese Ministry of Defense.
West Germany was a frontline NATO state, facing down the numerically superior armies of the Warsaw Pact. While the United States for a time planned to offset Soviet superiority in tanks, aircraft, and manpower with nuclear weapons, West Germany’s policy was to build up a powerful land army to deter, and if necessary defeat, an invasion;
after all, if either side used nuclear weapons, they would almost certainly be used on German soil. The Heer operated an impressive 12 combat divisions, including five panzer (armored) and four panzergrenadier (mechanized infantry) divisions, as well as several reserve mechanized brigades, for a total of 5,135 tanks.
As a result of tactical requirements, Rheinmetall Waffe Munition developed the improved kinetic energy ammunition known as LKE 2 DM53. With the DM53 round, the L55 gun can fire to a range of 5,000m. The effect of the kinetic energy projectile on an enemy target is achieved by the penetrator length and projectile mass and the impact velocity, and the interaction between the projectile and the target.
International Orders For Leopard And Its Variation Models
The 54 Leopard 2s are a drop in the bucket of NATO’s tank fleet, which includes more than 1,000 Leopards overall. As of this writing, other countries are deliberating sending more tanks, and a multinational Leopard 2 tank force that could consist of more than 100 tanks appears likely.
This force, fighting for Ukraine, could reverse Russian advances over the past year, while proving more than a match for Russian T-72 and T-80 tanks, some of which are even older than the Leopards. The Leopard 2 is a 55-ton main battle tank.
It’s armed with a 120-millimeter smoothbore gun and two 7.62-millimeter machine guns. A crew of four operates the tank, including a commander, gunner, loader, and driver. It’s powered by an MTU MB 873 12-cylinder, water-cooled diesel engine, producing 1,500 horsepower.
This results in a ratio of 27 horsepower per ton, enough to drive it to a top speed of 42 miles per hour. “I don’t know much about Germany’s new Defense Minister. What I do know gives me some anxiety,” Polish leader Morawiecki said in a video interview on his way back from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Fire Control Capabilities Of The Main Battle Tank
He cited Pistorius’ previous support for easing sanctions against Russia along with his relationship with “close associate” Gerhard Schröder. The former German chancellor was forced to give up his office at the German Parliament (Bundestag) for failing to sever his Russian business ties following Moscow’s invasion.
Spain has ordered 219 Leopard 2E (a version of the 2A6 with greater armor protection), 16 recovery tanks (CREC) and four training vehicles. The first 30 were built by KMW and the rest license-built in Spain by General Dynamics, Santa Barbara Sistemas (GDSBS).
The first tank was handed over to the Spanish Army in June 2004 and deliveries concluded in 2008. KMW has developed a mine protection system for the Leopard 2, following a concept definition by an international working group from Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway, under the leadership of the German procurement agency BWB.
An order placed in September 2003 involved the modification of 15 Leopard 2A6 tanks for the German Army and ten Leopard 2A5 (Strv 122) for Sweden. The first mine-protected tank was delivered in July 2004. The Leopard 2 carried just 42 rounds of main gun ammunition.
The Iron Triangle
This prioritized using the main gun against enemy tanks, while trucks, infantry, and other unarmored targets would be engaged by the tank’s machine guns. The tank was fitted with one MG3A1 7.62-millimeter machine gun—mounted coaxially with the main gun, and fired by the loader—that could engage ground targets.
A second MG3A1 mounted above the turret, fired by the commander, was primarily meant to engage enemy aircraft. In 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, West and East Germany reunited into a single state, and the NATO countries radically downsized their armed forces.
This was not the end of the Leopard 2, but rather a rebirth, as Germany and the Netherlands unloaded thousands of used tanks on the global arms market. Germany sold or transferred Leopard 2s to Chile, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Norway, Poland, Qatar, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey, while the Netherlands exported tanks to Austria, Canada, and Portugal.
The Leopard 2 became a truly global tank. Upgraded Leopards from the -A5 variant onward include the addition of extra layers of armor bolted onto the face of the turret, protecting the tank from frontal attack.
Kmw’s Mbt Leopard Support Systems And Tank Engine
The thickness and composition of this armor is unknown, but it is considered vital to keep the tank protected from modern anti-tank ammunition used by modern Russian main battle tanks. “When things seem to be going in a slightly better direction on the subject of heavy weapons for Ukraine, Germany steps in and raises doubts,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told the PAP Polish Press news agency on Sunday.
To understand what made the Leopard 2 the most popular tank in the world, we have to go back to the Cold War itself. In 1955, a decade after World War II, Germany reconstituted its armed forces.
At the time, Germany was split in two: West Germany, an ally of the United States and a member of NATO; and East Germany, an ally of the Soviet Union and a member of the Warsaw Pact.
West Germany established the Bundeswehr, or Federal Armed Forces, and under it, the Heer, or German Army. “Everyone understands the need [Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky] is in and everyone understands the needs and that is why there will be a decision soon, whatever it will be,” new German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told public broadcaster ARD on Sunday.
Main Armaments And Weapons On Leopard
Now, nearly a year after Russia invaded Ukraine, NATO is set to send up to 54 Leopard 2s to energize the Ukrainian army. The tanks, sent from NATO nations including Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal, will arm Kyiv with a better, more powerful tank fleet than ever before.
In small numbers or large, however, the Leopard 2 would be a much better tank than anything fielded by the mighty Russian Armed Forces. (Editor’s Note: The number of Leopard 2 tanks that NATO countries have donated to Ukraine, so far, are accurate as of publishing time.)
The most popular tank in the world is not American; it’s a big cat in service with more than 20 countries worldwide. The Kampfpanzer Leopard 2, which Germany designed and built in the 1970s, is one of the most widely used tanks in the world, and is by far the most popular tank in NATO’s inventory.
It was so advanced for its time that even the mighty American .css-3wjtm9{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.125rem;text-decoration-color:#1c6a65; text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:inherit;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-3wjtm9:hover{color:#595959 ;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}M1 Abrams has some Leopard 2 DNA in it. The Finnish Army has bought 124 tanks and the Polish Army has bought 128 used Leopard 2A4 tanks from Germany.
Late Bloomer
In August 2005, Greece placed an order for 183 used Leopard 2A4 and 150 Leopard 1A5 tanks from German Army reserves. The commander’s station has an independent periscope, a PERI-R 17 A2 from Rheinmetall Defense Electronics (formerly STN Atlas Elektronik) and Zeiss Optronik.
PERI-R 17 A2 is a stabilized panoramic periscope sight for day/night observation and target identification, which provides an all-round view with a traverse of 360°. The thermal image from the commander’s periscope is displayed on a monitor.
Leopard 2 exports drove a new wave of upgrades for the main battle tank, upgrades designed to keep the original tank viable against armored threats. The Leopard 2A4, the baseline version at the end of the Cold War, received modifications that often varied depending on what part of the world they were exported to.
This resulted in more than half a dozen serving Leopard 2 variants, including the German Army’s Leopard 2A7+, the most modern version in service anywhere worldwide. Almost all of the tanks were fitted with the -A5’s improved turret armor, giving the tank’s signature boxy turret a sharper, more angular profile.
Why Are Leopard Tanks So Important?
The original main tank-killing round was the DM-13 armor-piercing, discarding sabot tank round, essentially a high-speed steel dart capable of penetrating 220 millimeters of tank armor at 1.2 miles. Another round was the DM-12 high-explosive, anti-tank shell that used the shaped explosive charge to penetrate armor.
Today, the Leopard 2 carries even more powerful rounds with greater armor penetration, including the Rheinmetall DM53 and DM63 rounds, reportedly capable of penetrating 750 millimeters of tank armor at the same distance. Rheinmetall received a €118m ($139.3m) order to modernize 104 Leopard 2 tanks for the Bundeswehr.
The project includes the transformation of 68 Leopard 2A4, 16 Leopard 2A6 and 20 Leopard 2A7 main battle tanks to A7V standard. Behind the back-and-forth lies Germany’s evolving approach to security and military policy in the wake of Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Modern Germany has been reluctant to become involved in international conflicts, against the backdrop of post-war demilitarization.
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Emma Nehls is a military writer and historian with a passion for exploring the intricacies of warfare and the human experience within the military. With extensive knowledge and a deep understanding of military strategy, tactics, and historical contexts, Nehls brings a unique perspective to his writings.
